Search Results (106)

The digital business environment is rapidly evolving with advancements in information technology (IT), increasing the risk of information security incidents. Grounded in the resource-based view and in contingency theory, this study adopts a different approach from prior research by conceptualizing security management activities not as mere risk control mechanisms, but as strategic innovation drivers that can enhance corporate performance (sales revenue and operating profit). The authors develop a research model with six independent variables, including internal and external security management activities, CISO role configuration (independent or dual-role with CIO), and investment levels in IT and information security. The dependent variables include sales revenue and operating profit, with ISMS or ISO certification as a moderating variable. Using information security (IS) disclosures and financial data from 545 Korean firms that have reported their security management activities to the Ministry of Science and ICT, multiple regression and moderation analyses reveal that high IT investment negatively impacts performance, but this effect is mitigated when formal security systems, like ISMS or ISO, are in place. The results suggest that integrating recognized security frameworks into management strategies can enhance both innovation and financial outcomes, encouraging a proactive approach to security management. Full article

Collaborative business ecosystems (CBEs) are increasingly exposed to disruptive events (e.g., pandemics, supply chain breakdowns, cyberattacks) that challenge organizational adaptability and value creation. Traditional approaches to resilience and robustness often fail to capture the full range of systemic responses. This study introduces a unified mathematical framework to evaluate four crisis response modes—plasticity, resilience, transformative resilience, and antifragility—within complex adaptive networks. Grounded in complex systems and collaborative network theory, our model formalizes both internal organizational capabilities (e.g., adaptability, learning, innovation, structural flexibility) and strategic interventions (e.g., optionality, buffering, information sharing, fault-injection protocols), linking them to pre- and post-crisis performance via dynamic adjustment functions. A composite performance score is defined across four dimensions (Innovation, Contribution, Prestige, and Responsiveness to Business Opportunities), using capability–strategy interaction matrices, weighted performance change functions, and structural transformation modifiers. The sensitivity analysis and scenario simulations enable a comparative evaluation of organizational configurations, strategy impacts, and phase-transition thresholds under crisis. This indicator-based formulation provides a quantitative bridge between resilience theory and practice, facilitating evidence-based crisis management in networked business environments. Full article

As data becomes a core driver of modern business innovation, mobile applications increasingly collect and process users’ personal information, posing significant challenges to the effectiveness of informed consent and the legitimacy of user authorization. Existing research on privacy informed consent mechanisms has predominantly focused on privacy policy texts and normative legal discussions, often overlooking a critical touchpoint—the launch-time privacy pop-up window. Moreover, empirical investigations from the user’s perspective remain limited. To address these issues, this study employs a two-stage approach combining compliance audit and grounded theory. The preliminary audit of 21 mobile apps assesses the compliance of privacy pop-ups, and the formal study uses thematic analysis of interviews with 19 participants to construct a dual-path explanatory framework. Key findings reveal that: (1) while the reviewed apps partially safeguarded users’ right to be informed, compliance deficiencies still persist; (2) trust and privacy fatigue emerge as dual motivations driving user consent. Trust plays a critical role in amplifying the impact of positive messages within privacy pop-ups by enhancing the consistency among users’ cognition, affect, and behavior, thereby reducing resistance to privacy consent and improving the effectiveness of the current informed consent framework. Conversely, privacy fatigue increases the inconsistency among these factors, undermining consent effectiveness and exacerbating the challenges associated with informed consent. This study offers a user-centered framework to explain the dynamics of informed consent in mobile privacy pop-ups and provides actionable insights for regulators, developers, and privacy advocates seeking to enhance transparency and user autonomy. Full article

This article examines the land-use politics of recreation development in rural China. Extending the lens of spatial informality, it analyzes how the appropriation and acquisition of space by small suburban leisure enterprises have constituted a de facto vehicle for rural spatial reconfiguration amidst land-use constraints. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and case studies, we illuminate emerging scenarios in which inbound businesses burgeoned through the production of informal spaces, which were subsequently formalized or tolerated by local governments geared towards social economic growth. More so, we reveal the potential and limitations of such an informal-to-formal approach for rural spatial reconfiguration by showing how its sustainability and survival depend upon the enterprises’ ability to enter into a tacit alliance of interests with local authorities. This article casts new light on emerging bottom-up processes of spatial reconfiguration, alongside its repercussions for local suburbs, in the development of rural tourism and suburban leisure. It further suggests that, as an analytical approach, a nuanced understanding of rural restructuring under the recent national rural revitalization strategy can benefit from moving beyond the sole emphasis on formal institutions to analyze the role played by ordinary market actors and their spatial practices that shape rural territories and spatial relationships. Full article

In today’s fast-changing business environment, artificial intelligence (AI) capability plays a critical role in fostering product innovation (PI). Resource-based theory (RBT) posits that resources and capabilities characterized as valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable can generate a sustained competitive advantage, providing an appropriate theoretical framework for this study. Using RBT this study examines how business intelligence transforming capability (BITC) mediates the relationship between AI capability and PI and how formal and informal knowledge governance mechanisms (FKGMs and IKGMs, respectively) moderate the effect of AI capability on BITC. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling on 516 Chinese manufacturing enterprises, we empirically test a mediated moderation model. The findings reveal that BITC significantly mediates the relationship between AI capability and PI. Both FKGMs and IKGMs strengthen the effect of AI capability on BITC (with IKGMs showing a stronger influence). This study theoretically contributes by identifying BITC’s mediating role, defining AI capability and BITC boundary conditions, revealing FKGMs’ and IKGMs’ asymmetries, and extending RBT. In terms of practical contributions, the findings emphasize the necessity of developing BITC and strategically applying both FKGMs and IKGMs to maximize AI capability-driven PI benefits. Full article

In today’s evolving society, meaningful development cannot be fully realized without acknowledging the vital role of the electronics sector, especially as it functions within informal markets. These markets have become more than just centers of commerce; they serve as informal learning grounds where many young people acquire entrepreneurial skills, develop resilience, and find alternatives to social vices. For many, informal entrepreneurship is not just an option but a means of survival and self-empowerment. Despite their growing relevance, the link between the entrepreneurial abilities nurtured in these informal markets and actual business performance has not been adequately examined. This study, therefore, aimed to explore how informal electronics entrepreneurs in a developing economy navigate their environment, overcome challenges, and create wealth through vision, innovation, and calculated risk-taking. Anchored in institutional theory, the research employed a qualitative approach, using cluster, purposive, and simple random sampling to select participants from key informal business units. Interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed using QSR NVivo 12, allowing for deep insight into the lived experiences of the entrepreneurs. Findings revealed that 78% of participants emphasized practical suggestions that aid informal business survival, such as customer-driven innovations, adaptive strategies, and avoiding confrontations with regulatory agencies. Key attributes such as foresight, adaptability, and risk management accounted for 66% of the variance in corporate success. Strategic and innovative approaches are enabling informal firms to endure and prosper, since 61% of respondents associated these competencies with organizational success. The new BSP framework, which integrates institutional and contingency theories, illustrates how informal enterprises endure by conforming to or opposing institutional pressures and adjusting to environmental changes. The results indicate that, when properly understood and supported, the informal electronics sector may develop sustainably. This study demonstrates that informal entrepreneurship is influenced by formal regulations, informal norms, and local enforcement mechanisms, therefore enhancing institutional theory and elucidating business behavior in developing nations. The Business Survival Paradigm [BSP] illustrates how informal enterprises navigate institutional obstacles to endure. It advocates for policies that integrate the official and informal sectors while fostering sustainable development. The paper advocates for ongoing market research to assist informal firms in remaining up-to-date. It implores authorities to acknowledge the innovative potential of the informal sector and to provide supportive frameworks for sustainable growth and formal transition where feasible. Full article

This study examines how entrepreneurial finance, entrepreneurial networking, and entrepreneurial culture contribute to sustainable business among culinary micro-enterprises in Bandung City, Indonesia. This study fills a gap in the literature by highlighting that micro-enterprises’ sustainability, from economic, social, and environmental aspects, is not always underpinned by formal institutional support. Using a qualitative approach and semi-structured interviews with 10 culinary micro-enterprise owners whose businesses have been able to survive across generations, this study found that business owners manage their finances adaptively, build trust-based social networks, and apply local cultural values to sustainable business practices. The findings show that trust and flexibility in informal funding play a crucial role in entrepreneurial finance, while challenging the view that access to formal financing is the main prerequisite for sustainability. Entrepreneurial culture proves to be a strategic internal resource in strengthening environmentally friendly practices. The originality of this study offers an alternative perspective that is more contextualized and grounded in understanding the sustainability strategies of micro-enterprises in developing countries. Full article

E-waste, or electronic waste, refers to discarded electronic devices and components, and the management of e-waste has become a newly arising and challenging issue both in India and globally. Due to the increase in population, urbanization, global demand, and expansion of the digital infrastructure, generation of electronic waste is increasing annually. This study provides a comprehensive and thoroughly reviewed qualitative study on electronic waste management practice. This study highlights an outline of the amount of electronic waste generation in India and the world and examines prevailing approaches in the treatment and management of electronic waste, including unsafe informal recycling and inadequate inventory control. This article focuses on major problems such as child labor, illegal dumping, poor infrastructure, limited knowledge and awareness among the public inadequate legal regulation, and spillage of various toxic heavy metals such as arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), and barium (Ba) via electronic waste. This study analyzes the harmful effects of toxic heavy metals, such as arsenic and mercury, on environmental quality and human well-being. To address these issues, this study outlines various sustainable recommendations, such as technology improvement proper collection; handling, management, and eradication of waste generated by electrical equipment in formal recycling practices; the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) following circular economy practice, including collaboration between governmental, non-governmental, business, industries, and civil society; better legislative measures such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) and a single approach method, where collecting, sorting, and dismantling electronic waste is handled by the informal sector, while the formal sector manages extraction of metal, disposal, and recycling. Full article

This study explores the connection between business management and the formalization of micro and small businesses (MSEs) in a particular developing economy environment. The main objective is to identify the business management factors that influence the business registration and compliance processes of these enterprises. This study uniquely contributes to the literature by empirically identifying and testing the specific business management factors that influence MSE formalization in an emerging economy, using a quantitative, data-driven approach. The research design utilizes quantitative methods and non-experimental and correlational elements while surveying 186 informal entrepreneurs from a total population of 361. The analysis used SPSS software version 25 on Likert-type scale survey data to identify relationships between investigated variables. The results demonstrate a weak positive association between business management and MSE formalization through their r = 0.386 Spearman correlation coefficient, which reaches statistical significance at a p-value of 0.000. In addition, positive correlations were identified between resource availability and accessibility and service quality with formalization, whereas acceptability and adaptability did not show a significant relationship (r = 0.256, p = 0.000; r = 0.359, p = 0.000). The formalization of MSEs depends on proper business management; however, a broader contextual approach is required to meet specific demands in local areas such as the study area. These findings suggest the implementation of integrated policies that improve the availability, accessibility, and quality of resources and services offered to MSEs. Full article

With the increasingly busy transportation of cargo at container terminals (CTs), the requirements for terminal throughput and operational efficiency are constantly increasing. The operational efficiency and cost of CTs are closely related to the seamless docking of terminal facilities, especially the joint operation between berths and quay cranes (QCs). Therefore, a joint allocation problem of berths and QCs (BACASP) is presented in this paper and formalized as a mathematical model to minimize terminal operation costs and shipowner dissatisfaction. Given that BACASP is an NP-hard problem, an improved multi-objective cuckoo search (IMOCS) algorithm is proposed to solve this problem, in which an elite-guided tangent flight strategy is presented to speed up the convergence for making up the lack of random search direction of the traditional cuckoo search algorithm; and an information-enhanced abandonment strategy is put forward to increase the possibility of escaping from local optima. Numerical experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Full article

By exploring the positive elements of traditional business culture and combining them with modern enterprise management concepts, this paper aims to realize the sustainable development of enterprises and cultural heritage and innovation. In this context, this study empirically examines the impact and mechanisms of merchant guild culture (MGC) on corporate innovation, using A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2022 as a sample. The findings indicate that MGC positively influences contemporary corporate innovation through both external and internal channels. External channels include alleviating financing constraints and enhancing ESG performance, and internal influence channels such as improving integrity and emphasizing human capital. Additionally, social networks strengthen the relationship between MGC and corporate innovation. Furthermore, using the legal environment as a moderating variable has led to the discovery of a certain substitution relationship between formal and informal institutions. A heterogeneity analysis further shows that the effect of MGC on innovation is more pronounced in enterprises with low-risk preference and a foreign cultural impact. Full article

Technology has become crucial for businesses of all scales, enhancing operational efficiency, customer experience, and overall performance. While many formal businesses have embraced technology, small and informal businesses, particularly in rural areas, often struggle with adoption due to resource constraints. This study examines the impact of technological capability (TC) on the performance of informal food service operators (IFO) in southwestern Nigeria. This study employed a quantitative approach whereby a closed-ended questionnaire was administered to 180 IFOs across different LGAs in Oyo State to elicit information about the effect of their activities on performance indicators. The response rate was 93.8%. Data was analyzed using a binary logistic regression model. Findings revealed that the innovation capability (β—1.657; p—0.003*) and production capability (β—3.276; p—0.009*) of the IFOs significantly influenced their sales turnover and profit level is influenced by innovation capability (β—1.657; p—0.013*), investment capability (β—2.013; p—0.004*) and linkage capability (β—2.716; p—0.003*) within the study area. The study recommends that there should be strong linkages between the operators and technology-providing organisations to enhance their innovation capability. Full article

Smallholder farmers’ participation in collective marketing is essential for the growth of smallholder farming businesses and the sustainability of their livelihoods. Collective marketing provides smallholder farmers with increased opportunities to scale up market access and participation. Given the challenges that the majority of smallholder farmers still face regarding market access and participation, this review was conducted to explore the trends and effects of collective marketing participation, as well as the barriers to participation among smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The results show that collective marketing has a high potential to give smallholder farmers access to both formal and informal market participation, as well as recognition by public and private support structures. To improve collective marketing participation among SSA countries, more focused and content-specific strategies and interventions are needed to address the complex socio-economic and structural barriers that limit smallholder farmers’ ability to fully benefit from collective marketing initiatives across the region. Full article

Access to finance is essential for fostering financial inclusion, improving household economic well-being, and stimulating economic growth. However, if not prudently managed, it can become a double-edged sword, increasing the risk of over-indebtedness, particularly among low-income households. This paper investigates the borrowing behavior of rural households in Egypt, exploring whether it is motivated by the optimization of intertemporal consumption or reflects deeper financial vulnerabilities. The study enhances our understanding of rural households’ financial behavior in Egypt and contributes to the literature by introducing perceived general self-efficacy as a key behavioral factor. The paper employs a quantitative methodology using a probit analysis of the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey to explore the factors affecting the demand for formal loans, informal borrowing, and Rotating Saving and Credit Associations (RoSCAs). The results show that informal credit plays a dominant role in meeting rural households’ financial needs. A significant positive relationship between formal and informal credit suggests they are complementary. Elderly, married, less educated, and poorer individuals are more likely to seek both forms of credit, with employment stability being a key differentiator. Self-efficacy also has a significant positive effect. No significant regional differences are observed, except in the case of informal borrowing, with rural households in Upper Egypt showing less reliance, suggesting that social image may influence financial behavior in this region. The results suggest that demand for credit is driven by economic and financial vulnerability of rural households. The paper highlights key policy implications. First, to enhance participation in formal credit market, credit policies should offer more affordable, tailored credit relevant to starting a business rather than financing consumption, part of which is conspicuous. Second, the low self-efficacy among the rural poor suggests a need for policies that combine credit access with financial literacy and debt management support to prevent over-indebtedness. Full article

The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Egypt made a historical decision on disaster loss and damage for vulnerable countries. Even though parties agreed to salvage vulnerable nations with generous support, a fundamental question remains as to the extent to which these vulnerable countries can accurately identify the most vulnerable communities/areas. In Sri Lanka, informal businesses are particularly vulnerable to floods, but their informal status has limited the extent to which they could receive flood protection, including disaster-resilient infrastructure developments. The main objective of this paper, therefore, is to identify challenges that informal businesses have experienced in dealing with flood disaster risks. In doing so, we analyzed government policies and laws that are related to business formalization and disaster management. We also conducted interviews with key informants to verify our data. Our analysis found that the Sri Lankan government requires informal business owners to follow complicated rules to register their businesses. For these owners, who are not highly educated, these processes and fear of high tax rates discouraged registering their businesses. The central government tends to prioritize flood mitigation actions for formalized business areas. Informal businesses are not usually covered by flood insurance and compensation. In conclusion, we emphasize the need to establish widely available legal and administrative support for informal businesses to register. Adopting business continuity plans (BCPs) and keeping standardized business records also help businesses minimize flood loss and damage. Full article